Systems and methods for depositing low-k dielectric films

ABSTRACT

Exemplary methods of forming a silicon-and-carbon-containing material may include flowing a silicon-and-carbon-containing precursor into a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber. A substrate may be housed within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber. The methods may include forming a plasma within the processing region of the silicon-and-carbon-containing precursor. The plasma may be formed at a frequency above 15 MHz. The methods may include depositing a silicon-and-carbon-containing material on the substrate. The silicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterized by a dielectric constant below or about 3.0.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/983,305, filed Feb. 28, 2020, the contents of whichare hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology relates to deposition processes and chambers.More specifically, the present technology relates to methods ofproducing low-k films that may not utilize UV treatments.

BACKGROUND

Integrated circuits are made possible by processes which produceintricately patterned material layers on substrate surfaces. Producingpatterned material on a substrate requires controlled methods forforming and removing material. Material characteristics may affect howthe device operates, and may also affect how the films are removedrelative to one another. Plasma-enhanced deposition may produce filmshaving certain characteristics. Many films that are formed requireadditional processing to adjust or enhance the material characteristicsof the film in order to provide suitable properties.

Thus, there is a need for improved systems and methods that can be usedto produce high quality devices and structures. These and other needsare addressed by the present technology.

SUMMARY

Exemplary methods of forming a silicon-and-carbon-containing materialmay include flowing a silicon-and-carbon-containing precursor into aprocessing region of a semiconductor processing chamber. A substrate maybe housed within the processing region of the semiconductor processingchamber. The methods may include forming a plasma within the processingregion of the silicon-and-carbon-containing precursor. The plasma may beformed at a frequency above 15 MHz. The methods may include depositing asilicon-and-carbon-containing material on the substrate. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a dielectric constant below or about 3.0.

In some embodiments, the silicon-and-carbon-containing precursor mayinclude oxygen. The silicon-and-carbon-containing precursor may becharacterized by a carbon-to-silicon ratio greater than 1. The plasmamay be formed at a frequency above or about 27 MHz. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a dielectric constant below or about 2.8. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a hardness of greater than or about 1 Gpa. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a Young's modulus of greater than or about 5 Gpa. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a methyl incorporation greater than or about 3%. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a ratio of methyl incorporation to non-methyl carbon incorporation ofgreater than or about 1.2.

Some embodiments of the present technology may encompass methods offorming a silicon-and-carbon-containing material. The methods mayinclude providing a deposition precursor into a processing region of asemiconductor processing chamber, wherein a substrate is housed withinthe processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber, andwherein the deposition precursor is characterized by Formula 1:

-   -   wherein in Formula 1 R¹ may include —CH₃ or —CH₂CH₃,    -   R² may include —CH₃ or —CH₂CH₃,    -   R³ may include —CH₃, —OCH₃ or H, and    -   R⁴ may include —(CH₂)_(n)CH₃, —O(CH₂)_(n)CH₃, —CH═CH₂,    -   CH₂—CH₂—(CH₂CH₃)₂, —CH₂—CH(CH₃)₂. The method may include forming        a plasma within the processing region of the deposition        precursor. The plasma may be formed at a frequency above 27 MHz.        The methods may include depositing a        silicon-and-carbon-containing material on the substrate. The        silicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be        characterized by a dielectric constant below or about 3.0.

In some embodiments, the deposition precursor may be characterized byratio of carbon to silicon of greater than or about 3. The depositionprecursor may be characterized by ratio of oxygen to silicon of greaterthan or about 1.5. The silicon-and-carbon-containing materialas-deposited may be characterized by a dielectric constant below orabout 2.8. The silicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited maybe characterized by a hardness of greater than or about 1 Gpa. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a Young's modulus of greater than or about 5 Gpa. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a methyl incorporation greater than or about 3%. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a ratio of methyl incorporation to non-methyl carbon incorporation ofgreater than or about 1.2.

Some embodiments of the present technology may encompass methods offorming a silicon-and-carbon-containing material. The methods mayinclude flowing a silicon-and-carbon-and-oxygen-containing precursorinto a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber. Asubstrate may be housed within the processing region of thesemiconductor processing chamber. The methods may include forming aplasma within the processing region of thesilicon-and-carbon-and-oxygen-containing precursor. The plasma may beformed at a frequency above or about 27 MHz. The methods may includedepositing a silicon-and-carbon-containing material on the substrate.The silicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may becharacterized by a dielectric constant below or about 2.9.

In some embodiments, the silicon-and-carbon-containing materialas-deposited is characterized by a hardness of greater than or about 1Gpa. The silicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may becharacterized by a Young's modulus of greater than or about 5 Gpa. Thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited may be characterizedby a methyl incorporation greater than or about 3%.

Such technology may provide numerous benefits over conventional systemsand techniques. For example, utilizing higher frequency power mayimprove deposition characteristics. Additionally, reducing the low-kformation to a single-chamber process may reduce production costs, costof ownership, and production queue times. These and other embodiments,along with many of their advantages and features, are described in moredetail in conjunction with the below description and attached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the disclosedtechnology may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of thespecification and the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of an exemplary processing system accordingto some embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary plasmasystem according to some embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 3 shows operations of an exemplary method of semiconductorprocessing according to some embodiments of the present technology.

Several of the figures are included as schematics. It is to beunderstood that the figures are for illustrative purposes, and are notto be considered of scale unless specifically stated to be of scale.Additionally, as schematics, the figures are provided to aidcomprehension and may not include all aspects or information compared torealistic representations, and may include exaggerated material forillustrative purposes.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a letter thatdistinguishes among the similar components. If only the first referencelabel is used in the specification, the description is applicable to anyone of the similar components having the same first reference labelirrespective of the letter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Plasma enhanced deposition processes may energize one or moreconstituent precursors to facilitate film formation on a substrate. Anynumber of material films may be produced to develop semiconductorstructures, including conductive and dielectric films, as well as filmsto facilitate transfer and removal of materials. For example, in memorydevelopment, such as DRAM, deposition of films may be performed toproduce the cell structures. Conventional DRAM may include one or morelow-k dielectric films that may be produced by performing a two-stepoperation. An initial film may be formed with a silicon precursor and aporogen, followed by a UV treatment to release the porogen. This processmay be time-consuming and expensive, requiring separate chambers for thedeposition and the UV treatment.

The present technology may overcome these issues by performing adeposition process utilizing high-frequency plasma in a singleprocessing chamber. Much plasma processing is performed at about 13 MHz,which produces an amount of ion bombardment that may affect materialproperties. In one example, low-k films may be produced by incorporatingcarbon-containing materials within the film. When plasma at lowerfrequency is utilized, the ion bombardment on the substrate may causethe carbon to be removed, which may increase the dielectric constant ofthe film. Increasing to a high-frequency process, such as greater thanor about 27 MHz, greater than or about 40 MHz, or more, may increase theplasma density, which may increase the radical generation relative tothe ionic generation while also increasing the plasma density. This maylower ion bombardment, and may advantageously also increase the rate ofdeposition. The produced films may be characterized by lower dielectricconstant values over conventional technologies, and may also retainuseful hardness and Young's modulus characteristics.

Although the remaining disclosure will routinely identify specificdeposition processes utilizing the disclosed technology, it will bereadily understood that the systems and methods are equally applicableto other deposition and cleaning chambers, as well as processes as mayoccur in the described chambers. Accordingly, the technology should notbe considered to be so limited as for use with these specific depositionprocesses or chambers alone. The disclosure will discuss one possiblesystem and chamber that may be used to perform deposition processesaccording to embodiments of the present technology before additionaldetails according to embodiments of the present technology aredescribed.

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of one embodiment of a processing system100 of deposition, etching, baking, and curing chambers according toembodiments. In the figure, a pair of front opening unified pods 102supply substrates of a variety of sizes that are received by roboticarms 104 and placed into a low pressure holding area 106 before beingplaced into one of the substrate processing chambers 108 a-f, positionedin tandem sections 109 a-c. A second robotic arm 110 may be used totransport the substrate wafers from the holding area 106 to thesubstrate processing chambers 108 a-f and back. Each substrateprocessing chamber 108 a-f, can be outfitted to perform a number ofsubstrate processing operations including formation of stacks ofsemiconductor materials described herein in addition to plasma-enhancedchemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, physical vapordeposition, etch, pre-clean, degas, orientation, and other substrateprocesses including, annealing, ashing, etc.

The substrate processing chambers 108 a-f may include one or more systemcomponents for depositing, annealing, curing and/or etching a dielectricor other film on the substrate. In one configuration, two pairs of theprocessing chambers, e.g., 108 c-d and 108 e-f, may be used to depositdielectric material on the substrate, and the third pair of processingchambers, e.g., 108 a-b, may be used to etch the deposited dielectric.In another configuration, all three pairs of chambers, e.g., 108 a-f,may be configured to deposit stacks of alternating dielectric films onthe substrate. Any one or more of the processes described may be carriedout in chambers separated from the fabrication system shown in differentembodiments. It will be appreciated that additional configurations ofdeposition, etching, annealing, and curing chambers for dielectric filmsare contemplated by system 100.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary plasmasystem 200 according to some embodiments of the present technology.Plasma system 200 may illustrate a pair of processing chambers 108 thatmay be fitted in one or more of tandem sections 109 described above, andwhich may include lid stack components according to embodiments of thepresent technology, and as may be explained further below. The plasmasystem 200 generally may include a chamber body 202 having sidewalls212, a bottom wall 216, and an interior sidewall 201 defining a pair ofprocessing regions 220A and 220B. Each of the processing regions220A-220B may be similarly configured, and may include identicalcomponents.

For example, processing region 220B, the components of which may also beincluded in processing region 220A, may include a pedestal 228 disposedin the processing region through a passage 222 formed in the bottom wall216 in the plasma system 200. The pedestal 228 may provide a heateradapted to support a substrate 229 on an exposed surface of thepedestal, such as a body portion. The pedestal 228 may include heatingelements 232, for example resistive heating elements, which may heat andcontrol the substrate temperature at a desired process temperature.Pedestal 228 may also be heated by a remote heating element, such as alamp assembly, or any other heating device.

The body of pedestal 228 may be coupled by a flange 233 to a stem 226.The stem 226 may electrically couple the pedestal 228 with a poweroutlet or power box 203. The power box 203 may include a drive systemthat controls the elevation and movement of the pedestal 228 within theprocessing region 220B. The stem 226 may also include electrical powerinterfaces to provide electrical power to the pedestal 228. The powerbox 203 may also include interfaces for electrical power and temperatureindicators, such as a thermocouple interface. The stem 226 may include abase assembly 238 adapted to detachably couple with the power box 203. Acircumferential ring 235 is shown above the power box 203. In someembodiments, the circumferential ring 235 may be a shoulder adapted as amechanical stop or land configured to provide a mechanical interfacebetween the base assembly 238 and the upper surface of the power box203.

A rod 230 may be included through a passage 224 formed in the bottomwall 216 of the processing region 220B and may be utilized to positionsubstrate lift pins 261 disposed through the body of pedestal 228. Thesubstrate lift pins 261 may selectively space the substrate 229 from thepedestal to facilitate exchange of the substrate 229 with a robotutilized for transferring the substrate 229 into and out of theprocessing region 220B through a substrate transfer port 260.

A chamber lid 204 may be coupled with a top portion of the chamber body202. The lid 204 may accommodate one or more precursor distributionsystems 208 coupled thereto. The precursor distribution system 208 mayinclude a precursor inlet passage 240 which may deliver reactant andcleaning precursors through a dual-channel showerhead 218 into theprocessing region 220B. The dual-channel showerhead 218 may include anannular base plate 248 having a blocker plate 244 disposed intermediateto a faceplate 246. A radio frequency (“RF”) source 265 may be coupledwith the dual-channel showerhead 218, which may power the dual-channelshowerhead 218 to facilitate generating a plasma region between thefaceplate 246 of the dual-channel showerhead 218 and the pedestal 228.In some embodiments, the RF source may be coupled with other portions ofthe chamber body 202, such as the pedestal 228, to facilitate plasmageneration. A dielectric isolator 258 may be disposed between the lid204 and the dual-channel showerhead 218 to prevent conducting RF powerto the lid 204. A shadow ring 206 may be disposed on the periphery ofthe pedestal 228 that engages the pedestal 228.

An optional cooling channel 247 may be formed in the annular base plate248 of the precursor distribution system 208 to cool the annular baseplate 248 during operation. A heat transfer fluid, such as water,ethylene glycol, a gas, or the like, may be circulated through thecooling channel 247 such that the base plate 248 may be maintained at apredefined temperature. A liner assembly 227 may be disposed within theprocessing region 220B in close proximity to the sidewalls 201, 212 ofthe chamber body 202 to prevent exposure of the sidewalls 201, 212 tothe processing environment within the processing region 220B. The linerassembly 227 may include a circumferential pumping cavity 225, which maybe coupled to a pumping system 264 configured to exhaust gases andbyproducts from the processing region 220B and control the pressurewithin the processing region 220B. A plurality of exhaust ports 231 maybe formed on the liner assembly 227. The exhaust ports 231 may beconfigured to allow the flow of gases from the processing region 220B tothe circumferential pumping cavity 225 in a manner that promotesprocessing within the system 200.

FIG. 3 shows operations of an exemplary method 300 of semiconductorprocessing according to some embodiments of the present technology. Themethod may be performed in a variety of processing chambers, includingprocessing system 200 described above, as well as any other chamber inwhich plasma deposition may be performed. Method 300 may include anumber of optional operations, which may or may not be specificallyassociated with some embodiments of methods according to the presenttechnology.

Method 300 may include a processing method that may include operationsfor forming a material film or other deposition operations at highfrequency, such as producing DRAM memory or other materials, which maybe formed at a higher rate of deposition, and which may be produced withlower dielectric constant relative to conventional processes. The methodmay include optional operations prior to initiation of method 300, orthe method may include additional operations. For example, method 300may include operations performed prior to the start of the method,including additional deposition, removal, or treatment operations. Insome embodiments, method 300 may include flowing one or more precursorsinto a processing chamber at operation 305, which may deliver theprecursor or precursors into a processing region of the chamber where asubstrate may be housed, such as region 220, for example.

In some embodiments, the precursor may be or include asilicon-and-carbon-containing precursor for producing a low-k dielectriclayer, such as silicon oxide. The precursors may or may not includedelivery of additional precursors, such as carrier gases or one or moreoxygen-containing precursors for depositing an oxide layer. In someembodiments, the deposition may utilize a single deposition precursorthat includes silicon, carbon, and oxygen. Although a carrier gas, suchas an inert precursor, may be delivered with the deposition precursor,additional precursors intended to react with the deposition precursorand produce deposition products may not be used. By limiting thedeposition to a single precursor, more simplified deposition chambersmay be used, as uniform mixing and delivery of multiple precursors maynot be required.

Deposition precursors according to some embodiments of the presenttechnology may include precursors having silicon and oxygen bonding, andmay include linear branched precursors, cyclic precursors, or any numberof additional precursors. In some embodiments the precursors may becharacterized by certain ratios of carbon and/or oxygen to silicon. Forexample, in some embodiments a ratio of either carbon or oxygen tosilicon may be greater than or about 1, and may be greater than or about1.5, greater than or about 2, greater than or about 2.5, greater than orabout 3, greater than or about 3.5, greater than or about 4, or more. Byincreasing the amount of carbon or oxygen relative to silicon,additional incorporation within the film of residual moieties ormolecules may be increased. This may improve material properties, aswell as lower a dielectric constant as will be described further below.

Although any number of precursors may be utilized, in some embodimentsof the present technology, exemplary precursors may be characterized bythe following general Formula 1:

-   -   where R¹ may include —CH₃ or —CH₂CH₃,    -   R² may include —CH₃ or —CH₂CH₃,    -   R³ may include —CH₃, —OCH₃ or H, and    -   R⁴ may include —(CH₂)_(n)CH₃, —O(CH₂)_(n)CH₃, —CH═CH₂,    -   —CH₂—CH₂—(CH₂CH₃)₂, —CH₂—CH(CH₃)₂.

Any number of precursors may be encompassed by this general formula orother formulae that may provide one or more characteristics for filmformation, and may produce low-k silicon-and-carbon materials, such ascarbon-doped silicon oxide, for example. Exemplary precursors that mayact as single deposition precursors, or may be combined in someembodiments according to the present technology may include precursorsaccording to any of the following structures or formulae:

At operation 310, a plasma may be generated of the precursors within theprocessing region, such as by providing RF power to the faceplate togenerate a plasma within processing region 220, although any otherprocessing chamber capable of producing plasma may similarly be used.The plasma may be generated at any of the frequencies previouslydescribed, and may be generated at a frequency of greater than or about15 MHz, and may be generated at greater than or about 20 MHz, greaterthan or about 27 MHz, greater than or about 40 MHz, or greater. Byutilizing higher frequency plasma, a ratio of radical effluents to ionsmay be greater than or about 5, greater than or about 6, greater than orabout 7, greater than or about 8, greater than or about 9, greater thanor about 10, greater than or about 11, greater than or about 12, orgreater, for any of the precursors delivered. This may limit the ionbombardment to the film being formed, which may facilitate maintaining acertain amount of carbon within the film, which may provide a lowerdielectric constant.

The deposition may be performed at substrate or pedestal temperaturesgreater than or about 300° C., which may improve release of certaincarbon-and-hydrogen materials from the film, as well as cross-linking ofsilicon and oxygen chains within the material network. As will beexplained further below, while some carbon aspects may be beneficial tothe film, others may be less beneficial to the material produced.Accordingly, by increasing the deposition temperature, film propertiesmay be improved. Consequently, in some embodiments the deposition mayoccur at temperatures greater than or about 350° C., greater than orabout 375° C., greater than or about 400° C., greater than or about 425°C., greater than or about 450° C., or higher.

Material formed in the plasma may be deposited on the substrate atoperation 315, which may produce a silicon-and-carbon-containingmaterial, and which may produce asilicon-and-carbon-and-oxygen-containing material, such as acarbon-doped silicon oxide. By utilizing a high frequency plasma, plasmadensity may be increased, which may increase a deposition rate of thematerial. For example, in some embodiments the deposition rate mayexceed 900 Å/min, and may be deposited at a rate greater than or about1,000 Å/min, greater than or about 1,200 Å/min, greater than or about1,400 Å/min, greater than or about 1,600 Å/min, greater than or about1,800 Å/min, greater than or about 2,000 Å/min, greater than or about2,200 Å/min, greater than or about 2,500 Å/min, greater than or about3,000 Å/min, greater than or about 3,500 Å/min, greater than or about4,000 Å/min, or more. After deposition to a sufficient thickness, manyconventional processes may then transfer the substrate to a secondchamber to perform a treatment, such as a UV treatment or otherpost-deposition treatment. This may reduce throughput, and may increaseproduction costs by requiring an additional chamber or tool to performthe treatment. The present technology, however, may produce materials,including carbon-doped silicon oxide, which may be characterized bysufficient material properties as deposited, and without additionaltreatments. Although embodiments of the present technology may encompassadditional treatments subsequent deposition, the as-depositedcharacteristics of the film may include a range of improvements overconventional technology.

As explained above, conventional technologies operating at lower plasmafrequencies may cause an amount of ion bombardment that may otherwiserelease carbon-containing materials from the deposited materials, whichmay increase the dielectric constant of the film. By utilizing higherplasma frequencies, along with precursors according to the presenttechnology, low-k dielectric materials may be produced that may becharacterized by a dielectric constant of less than or about 3.00, andmay be less than or about 2.95, less than or about 2.90, less than orabout 2.85, less than or about 2.80, less than or about 2.79, less thanor about 2.78, less than or about 2.77, less than or about 2.76, lessthan or about 2.75, less than or about 2.74, less than or about 2.73,less than or about 2.72, less than or about 2.71, less than or about2.70, or less.

Dielectric constant may be related to material properties of the film,where the lower the dielectric constant, the lower the Young's modulusand/or hardness of the film produced. By producing films according tosome embodiments of the present technology, hardness and modulus may bemaintained higher than would otherwise occur were conventionaltechnologies capable of producing films with corresponding as-depositeddielectric constant values. For example, in some embodiments, thepresent technology may produce materials characterized by a Young'smodulus of greater than or about 5.0 Gpa, and may be characterized by aYoung's modulus of greater than or about 5.5 Gpa, greater than or about6.0 Gpa, greater than or about 6.5 Gpa, greater than or about 7.0 Gpa,greater than or about 7.5 Gpa, greater than or about 8.0 Gpa, greaterthan or about 8.5 Gpa, greater than or about 9.0 Gpa, greater than orabout 9.5 Gpa, greater than or about 10.0 Gpa, or higher. Similarly, thepresent technology may produce materials characterized by a hardness ofgreater than or about 0.9 Gpa, and may be characterized by a hardness ofgreater than or about 1.0 Gpa, greater than or about 1.1 Gpa, greaterthan or about 1.2 Gpa, greater than or about 1.3 Gpa, greater than orabout 1.4 Gpa, greater than or about 1.5 Gpa, greater than or about 1.6Gpa, greater than or about 1.7 Gpa, greater than or about 1.8 Gpa,greater than or about 1.9 Gpa, greater than or about 2.0 Gpa, or higher.Consequently, the present technology may produce films characterized bya lower dielectric constant, while maintaining higher modulus andhardness characteristics of the materials.

The material characteristics produced by embodiments of the presenttechnology may be related to an amount of methyl groups incorporatedinto the film, as well as an amount of non-methyl carbon incorporatedwithin the film, such as CH₂ or CH, bonded within the film. Theprocessing may release an amount of these materials, which may providean amount of porosity to the film, while retaining an amount of methylincorporation, which may facilitate lowering a dielectric constant ofthe film produced, whereas higher amounts of non-methyl carbon retainedwithin the film may increase the dielectric constant above the valuesnoted above. For example, in some embodiments, as-deposited materialsproduced according to the present technology may be characterized by amethyl or CH₃ percentage incorporated or retained within the film ofgreater than or about 2%, and may be characterized by a methylincorporation within the film of greater than or about 2.5%, greaterthan or about 2.6%, greater than or about 2.7%, greater than or about2.8%, greater than or about 2.9%, greater than or about 3.0%, greaterthan or about 3.1%, greater than or about 3.2%, greater than or about3.3%, greater than or about 3.4%, greater than or about 3.5%, greaterthan or about 3.6%, greater than or about 3.7%, greater than or about3.8%, greater than or about 3.9%, greater than or about 4.0%, or higher.

Additionally, a percentage of CH₂, and/or CH, and/or SiCSi may be lessthan or about 3.0% in the as-deposited materials, and may be less thanor about 2.9%, less than or about 2.8%, less than or about 2.7%, lessthan or about 2.6%, less than or about 2.5%, less than or about 2.4%,less than or about 2.3%, less than or about 2.2%, less than or about2.1%, less than or about 2.0%, less than or about 1.9%, less than orabout 1.8%, or less. Accordingly, the as-deposited materials may becharacterized by a ratio of methyl incorporation to non-methyl carbonincorporation of between about 1.0 and about 2.0, which may be greaterthan or about 1.1, greater than or about 1.2, greater than or about 1.3,greater than or about 1.4, greater than or about 1.5, greater than orabout 1.6, greater than or about 1.7, greater than or about 1.8, greaterthan or about 1.9, or higher. By utilizing higher frequency plasma withother processing characteristics according to embodiments of the presenttechnology, low-k dielectric materials may be produced, which may becharacterized by increased hardness and Young's modulus values, amongother material properties.

In the preceding description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousdetails have been set forth in order to provide an understanding ofvarious embodiments of the present technology. It will be apparent toone skilled in the art, however, that certain embodiments may bepracticed without some of these details, or with additional details.

Having disclosed several embodiments, it will be recognized by those ofskill in the art that various modifications, alternative constructions,and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of theembodiments. Additionally, a number of well-known processes and elementshave not been described in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thepresent technology. Accordingly, the above description should not betaken as limiting the scope of the technology.

Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that eachintervening value, to the smallest fraction of the unit of the lowerlimit, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upperand lower limits of that range is also specifically disclosed. Anynarrower range between any stated values or unstated intervening valuesin a stated range and any other stated or intervening value in thatstated range is encompassed. The upper and lower limits of those smallerranges may independently be included or excluded in the range, and eachrange where either, neither, or both limits are included in the smallerranges is also encompassed within the technology, subject to anyspecifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated rangeincludes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both ofthose included limits are also included.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”,and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a material” includes aplurality of such materials, and reference to “the precursor” includesreference to one or more precursors and equivalents thereof known tothose skilled in the art, and so forth.

Also, the words “comprise(s)”, “comprising”, “contain(s)”, “containing”,“include(s)”, and “including”, when used in this specification and inthe following claims, are intended to specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, components, or operations, but they do not precludethe presence or addition of one or more other features, integers,components, operations, acts, or groups.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of forming asilicon-and-carbon-containing material, the method comprising: flowing asilicon-and-carbon-containing precursor into a processing region of asemiconductor processing chamber, wherein a substrate is housed withinthe processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber; forming aplasma within the processing region of the silicon-and-carbon-containingprecursor, wherein the plasma is formed at a frequency above 15 MHz; anddepositing a silicon-and-carbon-containing material on the substrate,wherein the silicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited ischaracterized by a dielectric constant below or about 3.0, and whereinthe silicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterizedby a methyl incorporation within the silicon-and-carbon-containingmaterial greater than or about 3%.
 2. The method of forming asilicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 1, wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing precursor further comprises oxygen.
 3. Themethod of forming a silicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 2,wherein the silicon-and-carbon-containing precursor is characterized bya carbon-to-silicon ratio greater than
 1. 4. The method of forming asilicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 1, wherein the plasma isformed at a frequency above or about 27 MHz.
 5. The method of forming asilicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 1, wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterized bya dielectric constant below or about 2.8.
 6. The method of forming asilicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 1, wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterized bya hardness of greater than or about 1 Gpa.
 7. The method of forming asilicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 1, wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterized bya Young's modulus of greater than or about 5 Gpa.
 8. The method offorming a silicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 1, wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterized bya ratio of methyl incorporation to non-methyl carbon incorporation ofgreater than or about 1.2.
 9. The method of forming asilicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 1, wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterized bya CH₂ incorporation within the silicon-and-carbon-containing materialless than or about 2.5%.
 10. A method of forming asilicon-and-carbon-containing material, the method comprising: flowing asilicon-and-carbon-and-oxygen-containing precursor into a processingregion of a semiconductor processing chamber, wherein a substrate ishoused within the processing region of the semiconductor processingchamber; forming a plasma within the processing region of thesilicon-and-carbon-and-oxygen-containing precursor, wherein the plasmais formed at a frequency above or about 27 MHz; and depositing asilicon-and-carbon-containing material on the substrate, wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterized bya dielectric constant below or about 2.9, and wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterized bya methyl incorporation within the silicon-and-carbon-containing materialgreater than or about 3%.
 11. The method of forming asilicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 10, wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterized bya hardness of greater than or about 1 Gpa, and wherein thesilicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterized bya Young's modulus of greater than or about 5 Gpa.
 12. The method offorming a silicon-and-carbon-containing material of claim 10, whereinthe silicon-and-carbon-containing material as-deposited is characterizedby a CH₂ incorporation within the silicon-and-carbon-containing materialless than or about 2.5%.